Category Archives: Daily Cup of Joe

I’ve received a lot of feedback in the last week about my writing and blog in general. According to the site statistics and messages I’ve received from readers, the letter to my mom on her birthday was the most well-received. So I’ve decided today to share another, more recent story about the woman who helpedContinue reading “When We Stop to Smell the Flowers”

After only two days, I received a call from the Waukegan Testing Center to learn I was negative for COVID-19. And then, like clockwork, my mom received the same call only minutes later with similar results. While I could write an entire article about the amazing service I experienced at the Waukegan COVID Testing CenterContinue reading “The Simple Things in Life”

I’ve written a lot about my relationships with friends and family on my blog. I’ve found that expressing appreciation for the men and women who’ve helped me to come this far has a wonderful way of loosening the holds of anxiety and depression. By taking time out of my day to think and write aboutContinue reading “To My Forever Friend”

So it’s finally happened: a close relative went in for a screening and tested positive for Corona. I’m surprised, honestly, that I went so long without knowing someone personally who’d gotten the disease. Even more surprising, she received her test results only after I spent the last weekend visiting her at her house. So IContinue reading “Life’s Little, Deja Vu(tiful) Moments”

A few weeks ago, I bought tickets to California on a whim: at $78 dollars, I’d decided to put an end to my self-imposed quarantine by making a trip to see the Redwood Forest. It’s always been a dream of mine to make it there one day and wrap my arms around one of theContinue reading “Over the River and Through the Woods”

While I was out, I turned off my Bluetooth and switched on the radio. Since getting my car in July, I had been so enthralled by the ability to play music directly from my phone that I had yet to explore my radio. As I drove down Grand avenue, flipping through stations, I was surprisedContinue reading “On Days of Golden “Thunderclouds””

It has often been a symptom of my anxiety that I find myself unable to sleep at night. Sometimes my thoughts and worries prove too difficult to handle and I find myself staring, groggy eyed, as the sun peaks in through my windows. At the peak of Coronavirus, when I left my job and movedContinue reading “Morning Drives at Midnight”

The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Hyundai Elantra is the author’s reflection on the blessings of modern travel and the deeper meaning behind those miles spent. Following a brief car-theft-turned-recovery in early July, I have been the proud lessee of a 2020 Hyundai Elantra. Never before had I driven a carContinue reading “The Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Hyundai Elantra”

When Dreams Soar like Kites examines the author’s relationship with his father and the sacrifices he made in an effort to make his children more successful. As the week draws to a welcomed end, I’ve decided to take a moment to glance back to the beginning of July. When I first started this blog, itContinue reading “When Dreams Soar like Kites”

Happy Birthday, Mom is the author’s open letter to his mother, which details the impact she has had on his life and how the love she has shown for her children has shaped him into the man he is today. Every year, the men of the Messink house silently prepare for today. As August 13thContinue reading “Happy Birthday, Mom”